The State of the Union was pathetic

The annual State of the Union address combines the grandeur of our constitutional democracy and a bit of political grandstanding. That is a longstanding pattern, especially after the advent of live television. The president’s speech is preceded by a parade of politicians and high government officials, and the formality of the event is a reminder of the seriousness of government. At the same time, the State of the Union has tilted more and more toward political opportunism and less and less toward the nurture of our constitutional commitment.

Last night, President Joe Biden knew he was facing the challenge of his political life. The American people are rightly concerned about his age and mental condition. Last night was a mandatory event for Biden, but it was risky, and the White House knew the risks. Democratic media types had been running commentary for days, assuring Americans that Biden would rise to the occasion. Well, he got through the speech without an absolute faceplant, but watching him deliver the address was painful. The White House posted the president’s text just as the speech began. They did the boss no favors. He mumbled big lines, mangled word order, and invented some new words. But there was no absolute disaster, politically speaking. Americans are unlikely to be moved either way by this president’s age and mental state, at least by this one speech.

Some issues loom larger. Almost all public speakers deviate a bit from prepared remarks. But, to speak as kindly as possible, Joe Biden has made a career out of deviating from his remarks and from the truth. This is the same Joe Biden who had to leave the race for the Democratic Party nomination in 1988 because he was caught stealing a British politician’s speech and personal story.

But President Biden did not steal the speech last night. Those words were his own (and those of his speechwriting staff). He bears full responsibility. The main problem with the president’s speech was not his halting delivery but its moral content. The president and his party now aggressively embrace the Culture of Death. Biden’s speech was an undiluted call for maximum abortion rights and minimal respect for human life. He grandstanded on in vitro fertilization and thus dismissed human embryos as if they possessed no moral significance whatsoever.

The president broke several historic marks of decorum in his speech. He spoke of his predecessor in office with several references. Most egregiously, he directly addressed sitting justices of the Supreme Court and chastised the court for reversing Roe v. Wade in the 2022 Dobbs decision. “Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America,” he stated and went on to pledge, “If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.” Those remarks are just as printed in the text released by the White House. Does the president of the United States believe that voters send him a Congress? Is he an emperor who can now say “I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again?” Justices of the Supreme Court should refrain, on constitutional principle, from ever attending a speech by Joe Biden again. They are not members of his staff nor are they political lackeys. The president’s personal remarks to the justices represented an abuse of office.

Those issues aside, this speech is positive and irrefutable proof that Joe Biden has sold his everlasting soul for the cause of abortion. For decades, Biden ran on the argument that, as a faithful Roman Catholic, he was personally opposed to abortion. For many years, Biden posed as one who wanted at least some restrictions on abortion and had some respect for unborn life. It was all a lie. It was always a lie. It is the Devil’s lie. So far as I am concerned, it is Joe Biden’s defining lie, among his many, many documented lies.

Joe Biden now openly and unabashedly embraces the Culture of Death. He grandstands on abortion and sees it as the main issue that just might keep him in the White House for another four years. He now says Roe v. Wade “got it right,” but his current position, let’s be clear, is far more radically pro-abortion than even Roe v. Wade. His party calls for virtually unrestricted abortion right until the moment of birth—and don’t count on them holding even that line. Biden now supports government funding of abortion and making abortion a weapon in U.S. foreign policy. He is the doddering but dangerous chief executive of the Culture of Death.

He threw in the expected support for LGBTQ advancement and transgender claims, even apparently referring to transgender rights as “fundamental rights.” Try explaining that to James Madison or John Adams.

President Biden made one issue crystal clear in his speech: Abortion is the central sacrament of the Culture of Death, and he is that sacrament’s loyal servant. His State of the Union address was pathetic. Worse than that, for the cause of human life and human dignity, it was downright deadly.